The Kenyan universities that attract foreign students have been revealed in a new report that exposes the competitiveness of the institution of higher learning.
The cost of programmes they teach, quality of education and ease of accessing accommodation are some of the factors that attract international students.
Other factors that attract foreign students to these institutions are; location of the university, type and duration of the courses offered, clearly defined academic calendar, cost of living and availability of international students support desk.
The details are in a report by CPS Research international.
“International students preferred some universities to others because of high quality of education, affordability aspects, high global ranking, great culture, holistic education, good placement and internship offers,” reads the report.
Overall, the state of national security, immigration rules, culture of the country and ease of getting employed influence students’ choice to study in Kenya.
The University of Nairobi has the highest number of international students with a total of 1,300 international students enrolled. United States International University (USIU) is second with 1,100 students, Strathmore University is third with 660, Mount Kenya University is fourth with 560 international learners and Kenyatta University closes the best five with 472 such students.
Others are Moi University at sixth position with 322, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) with 300, Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA) is eighth with 255 and Egerton University is at position nine with 130 foreign students. Maseno University closes the best 10 with 119 students.
The total number of international students in Kenyan universities are 6,202.
Ugandans constitutes the highest number of foreign students in those mentioned institutions, according to the study. South Sudanese, Tanzanians, Somalians, and Nigerians follow that order of highest number.
Others are from Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Malawi and Zimbabwe.
“Most of them are young adults in the age bracket of 18-24 years at 54.1 per cent, and undertaking undergraduate courses,” reads the report.
Also read the best universities in Africa.
